Author: A Mama's Blog

Categories
Cancer Cooking Health Parenting

Maple Syrup- The New Anti-Cancer Food

I never gave much thought before having kids to maple syrup.  Once I started paying more attention to ingredients in food, I found out that most “maple syrup” from the grocery store isn’t really maple syrup at all, and contains artificial ingredients.  I used to use Mrs. Butterworth syrup.  It contains: High fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, water, salt, cellulose gum, molasses, potassium sorbate (preservative), sodium hexametaphosphate, citric acid, caramel color, natural and artificial flavors.

I have grown increasingly concerned about the effects of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) in my family’s diet.  It is in almost everything.  Manufacturers like to say HFCS is a “natural sugar,” but the body processes HFCS totally different than sugar.   A new study from Princeton on HFCS released a few days ago, found “Rats with access to high-fructose corn syrup gained significantly more weight than those with access to table sugar, even when their overall caloric intake was the same.  In addition to causing significant weight gain in lab animals, long-term consumption of high-fructose corn syrup also led to abnormal increases in body fat, especially in the abdomen, and a rise in circulating blood fats called triglycerides. The researchers say the work sheds light on the factors contributing to obesity trends in the United States.

My kids like waffles and pancakes and I make them from scratch as a special treat, once a week.  As a mother and a cook, it didn’t seem right to take the time to make these and then pour a mix of artificial and potentially harmful ingredients over them.  A few years ago, I decided I was going to make the switch from the fake syrup to real, 100%-from the tree, maple syrup.  It cost a few more dollars, but I loved knowing we weren’t eating yet another thing with HFCS, and it tasted so much better too.  If you have never tried real maple syrup, do so when you can.  I have noticed I can use about half as much of it, compared to the commercial brands, because it is so rich and flavorful. 

The fact there is no HFCS in real maple syrup was reason enough for me to switch.  Now it turns out that researchers from the University of Rhode Island have discovered 13 new compounds in maple syrup they say are anti-oxidant rich, and contain anti-cancer, anti-bacterial and anti-diabetic properties.  The summary of the study is a short read, and is very interesting.   

The lead researcher, Dr. Navindra Seeram, is quoted as saying, “At this point, we are saying, if you choose to put syrup on your pancakes, it may be healthier to use real maple syrup.”  He also points out that real maple syrup costs more than syrups that use maple flavoring or have little or no maple syrup.  He adds, “But you pay for what you get and you get what you pay for, meaning there are consequences for what you eat.”

Sometimes making drastic changes to our lifestyle and diet are hard, and can be overwhelming.  It may be impossible to eliminate every thing that has HFCS in it, but when you can make a change to buy something, like pure maple syrup, it is a step in the right direction.  Not only are you not eating a mixture of processed ingredients, and as this study shows, pure maple syrup may also end up helping your health- not harming it.

Categories
Family & Friends losing a parent

One Month Later

It occurred to me yesterday that today is the day my mom has been gone for a month.  Some days it seems like this still isn’t real.  And then there are days where it is all too real. 

Last week my sister’s husband, Kevin, and our friend, who was friends with my mom too, went to Minnesota to pack up her house for us.   Kevin said he didn’t want us to have to go through her things-it would be way too difficult.  So they flew out there, packed everything up, and drove back to Colorado.  We are so grateful to them for doing that for us.  Her things arrived at my house last week.  My brother Jeff, and my dad came up to help unpack the truck, but it was so difficult.   

I can’t tell myself she really busy at work, and that’s why she hasn’t called, when I saw all her things she owned in life- some of it she still had from when I was a little girl, in the back of a U-Haul.   

There was one picture she had holding my brother when he was a baby- she was 21, young, free, and beautiful, as a new mother.  I found it years ago in really bad shape and had it restored professionally for her as a Mother’s Day gift.  I wanted to find that picture last night.  I opened all the boxes that were labeled pictures, and found so many pictures she had of us.  Pictures from when we were babies up to just a few months ago.  I wanted to find that picture, because I feel like part of her gets a bit more distant everyday, and there is nothing I can do to stop that.  Seeing that picture would have helped. 

I didn’t find it last night, but I know it is there among her things somewhere. In some box, wrapped in tissue paper.  Her life.  Our life.  Our memories of her are in boxes now.  That is all we have left of her.  It isn’t nearly enough, but it is all we have.  When I saw the box with all our old family and childhood picture books, I felt a sense of relief.  The years she spent creating those for us, we have them now.  We will always have a piece of her and our history with those pictures. 

I drive by the cemetery on my way to work.  I had planned to stop today, but it snowed a foot of snow last night, and I would not have been able to find her grave.  I feel bad  I couldn’t “do” something today and at the very least go to her grave. 

I mentioned in a previous post one of her favorite songs was Somewhere Over the Rainbow, and it was sung at her service.  One of my friends posted a link to a new version of the song she had heard.  I think it is neat that happened.  It reminded me to keep looking for my mom in small things.  Another friend sent me a link a few weeks ago I had forgotten about until now.  It was to another version of Somewhere Over the Rainbow.  My mom would have loved this version, and the pictures. 

I miss and love you, Mom.   

Categories
Activities Family & Friends Running

My 20 Mile Running Week

This past week, I ran 20 miles!  If someone had told me in September, when I started running for one race,  I’d run 20 miles -ever- I would have laughed!

I ran two times this week under five miles, once at 6.2 miles (a 10K distance) and I ran the longest distance I have ever run, at 8 miles.  I was really happy with the 10K distance run.  My time on that was 1:01.  I ran this outside in a lot of mud at a park.  At first I didn’t want to get mud all over me, but after a mile I figured why not, and had fun running through the muck.  I have been wondering if I am going to be able to run my first 10K, the Bolder Boulder, in May sub 68 minutes, and it gave me a lot of confidence today that I will be able to.   

Physically, I’m a little tired but not as much as I thought I would be.  After Ryan was born, I had some funky hip pain that lasted for about 6 months.  I had an MRI done on it, and the doctor told me sometimes after pregnancy the muscles and ligaments never quite get back to “normal.”  He predicted the pain would go away, and few weeks later it did.  However, when I was running the 8 miles, I felt that exact same pain start.  I did a few stretches and used the foam roller on the spot and that seemed to help, but I still feel it slightly.  I am hoping it is a “running” pain and it will work itself out, as I keep running longer distances. 

This week I also got a Garmin Forerunner 405.  I used it today for the first time, and I think I am in love.  For the first time, I can see how fast I’m running each mile, my pacing, and I don’t have to worry about knowing the distances ahead of time.  Today I ran my fastest mile in mile 5, which was kind of a surprise for me.  I can download all the information to my computer to keep better track of my workouts.  I am going to be reviewing it shortly, after I have used it more. 

I am going to keep increasing my distances every week.   From what I have read, usually it is not recommended to increase distance by more than 10% at a time to avoid injuries.  I am really happy I had such a productive running week, and am hoping it will all pay off in April.  My dad has been training to run in a 5K with me, and we are going to do one mid-April.  I am so proud of how hard he has been working, and I know he will do great.  I am going to go for my personal best time for a 5K so that means under 27 minutes. 

This next month, I am going to run farther, run a little harder, and run a little faster.  I think if I do these things, I’ll be able to reach my goal.  I reached one this week I never imagined myself reaching, and it is just the start. 

Don’t bother just to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors.
Try to be better than yourself.
–William Faulkner

Categories
Family & Friends losing a parent Running

Runnin’ of the Green Race

I kept my promise to my mom, and ran in my first 7K (4.4 miles) race.  It was the Runnin’ of the Green in Denver.

I was going to run in this race with my friend, Alison, but sadly her mother-in-law passed away recently, and she hasn’t been able to train for it.  

I arrived downtown about half an hour before the race started, and it was PACKED.  I couldn’t even find the registration booths to pick up my bib and timing chip.  I could barely make my way through the crowd.  I finally found the line; a full city block and a half away.  There was no way I was going to be starting the race at 10 AM.  I figured I’d be lucky to get up to the booth by 11. 

After my last timing fiasco, I was happy to hear the announcer tell the crowd several times the timing chips are not activated until you cross the starting line.  A few minutes later they announced the entire race had been sold out, and if you hadn’t preregistered, there was no more space for runners.  That cleared out some people and lines collapsed.  I walked and made my way to the booth, and only had to wait for about five minutes.  They were announcing it was time to start when I put my timing chip on my shoe.

It was so crowded though!  The race was not started in waves, and really should have been.  I waited about 10 minutes until they said it was time for the walkers to line up before I started.  I hit the start on my watch, and off I went.  The morning had been sunny, and I usually get hot when I run. I wore my capri length running tights and a jacket. I was so glad I had thought to bring my gloves and hat, even though I didn’t think I would need them.  The day before, it was 60!  I think at race time it was in the 30’s, and it was windy.  I definitely needed them!

There were a lot of people walking right off the bat.  There were lots of strollers, dogs, and just a lot of people.  I didn’t start out on my normal pace, because I couldn’t.  I had to watch out for people.  As we ran out of downtown and across I-25, there were two big hills we were running down.  I knew we would be running UP these at the end of the race. I thought back to the Oatmeal 5K when the hills killed me at the end.  These hills were twice that size, but I have been doing the work, and I was actually somewhat excited to see how I would manage them at the end of the race.

As I ran down the hills, I broke away from the mob of people a bit, and I just felt free for a few moments.  I got tears in my eyes- I was thinking about my mom.  It just overwhelmed me in the moment.  I was only about a mile into the race, and knew I had a lot of work to do, so got myself focused again and started thinking about my pacing and breathing. 

I loved the course.  There were some flat parts, and some smaller hills.  It was challenging without being a killer course.  I wish I could say I completely broke away and found that perfect pacing, but I didn’t.  There was just too many people for me.  Every time I started to speed up, someone would step in front of me, or a stroller would stop, and everyone would have to adjust. There was no room to run really like I wanted to. 

As I got back to the section where the big hills were, I figured there was about a mile and a half left. I had way more energy than usual because I had not been running as fast as I normally do.  I thought about running conservatively up the hills, or trying to go a bit faster.  I opted for a little faster.  I sped up, and was kind of shocked when I reached the top of the second one.  I wasn’t out of breath, and wasn’t tired at all. 

I slowed down a little, because there is nothing I hate more than running out of steam right at the end. I like to finish strong. I held myself back until the final half mile, and was ready to sprint, but found out I couldn’t.  There were still too many people, and the streets were narrower now that we were back in downtown.  I tried running around as many people as I could, but it didn’t feel like I was really running- more like maneuvering. 

I finally saw the finish line and figured there was no point in sprinting.  I would have run into people if I did.  I thought of my mom again, and silently told her I was a few seconds away from finishing what I promised her I would do.  I touched her bracelet she wore, that I have been wearing since she passed away.   As I got to the finish line, it was bogged down by people, walking across, so I had to wait for them to walk across, so I could  run across.  Kind of crazy.

I looked down at my watch and it said three minutes!  I knew that wasn’t right and obviously my watch got reset somehow.  I was going to have to wait for the official results.  I decided right then and there I was done with the watch, and not knowing my times, distances, and splits.  (More on that in a future blog post)

I had to wait for someone to cut the timing chip off my shoe, and by the time that happened and I saw the official clock it said 53 minutes.  I figured my time was probably about 45 minutes. It was getting really cold and windy. I found a few running friends from Daily Mile and chatted a bit with them.  I drank some water and waited in the longest line ever for some soup, but it was good.  It had started snowing, and I was freezing, so it was time to go. 

The parking lot was nearly empty when I got to my car, and the snow was coming down. It seemed like another world, being so crammed into so many people while running, and not even an hour later, being in such a wide space alone.  

I turned the heat on and sat in the car for a minute, trying to get warm.  I touched my mom’s bracelet again.  It occurred to me for the first time after a race, she wasn’t going to be calling me to see how I did.  But as I watched the snow fall on Union Station, I felt like she already knew. Sometimes words aren’t necessary. 

Results

Time: 41:12

Age Group Place: 21 out of 74

Division Place: 240 out of 918

Gender Place: 536 out of 2189

Overall Place: 2436 out of 3832

Categories
Giveaways/Contests Parenting

My Passions- Mabel’s Labels Contest Entry

Last summer my good friend, Amy of Crunchy Domestic Goddess, entered us into a contest sponsered by Mabel’s Labels for a trip to BlogHer 2010.  Amy’s video made it to the top ten, and we were finalists!  The other night Amy sent me a link to a new contest the wondeful people at Mabel’s Labels is having for another trip to BlogHer 2010, and a blogging position with them.  Mabel’s Labels has asked,

“Write a post on your blog in response to the following hypothetical situation: Electrical storms are going to wipe out the Internet (perhaps forever). You have one day left to write about your passions: what do you want to say to the blogosphere in 300 words or less?”  Here is my entry:

I have written about my passions often over the years; the joys and frustrations associated with them.  I took for granted that I would always be healthy enough to pursue them.  I am also learning the hardest lesson of all- our loved ones won’t always be alive to help and support us with our passions.

Sometimes it is overwhelming like a ocean being ripped apart in a storm.  During these times my passions become the lighthouse in the distance.  The waves crash and break, but there is always a flicker of light showing me these struggles are temporary.   Writing my blog helps me navigate through these times, like during the last year when I discovered I had cancer, and my marriage ended.   When my cancer treatments were over, I found myself at the starting line of my new passion- running. 

Two weeks ago, another storm came crashing in, when my mother died.  I have no idea how to find the flicker of light through this storm. I wish if I could pursue my passions hard enough- write that brilliant piece, or run fast enough-it would bring my mom back. Life gives us beautiful highlights and agonizing heartbreaks.  It is easy to get weighed down in the sorrow and pain. 

But my greatest passion and love reminds me life goes on. The smiles and laughter are the brilliant lights, illuminating against the dark and angry waves.   This life-long passion is parenting.  It is the beacon in the storm, and the calming force. It is hope, and it is my future.